Asian invasion
Singapore Chinese Singaporeans are people of Chinese descent who are born in or immigrated to Singapore and have attained citizenship or permanent residence status. As of 2009, Chinese Singaporeans constitute 74.2% of Singapore's resident population, or approximately three out of four Singaporeans, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore. Singapore's standard of living has risen dramatically. Foreign direct investment and a state-led drive to industrialization based on plans drawn up by the Dutch economist Albert Winsemius have created a modern economy focused on industry, education and urban planning.11 Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita.12 As of January 2009, Singapore's official reserves stand at US$170.3 billion. Thailand about 14% of Thailand's population claim to be of Chinese ethnicity.3 Extensive intermarriages with the Thais, especially in the past has resulted in many people who claim Chinese ethnicity with Thai ancestry, or mixed.4 People of Chinese descent are concentrated in the coastal areas of Thailand, principally Bangkok.5 They are well-represented in all levels of Thai society and play a leading role in business and politics. Myanmar The Burmese Chinese dominate the Burmese economy although many enterprises today are co-owned by the military. Moreover, the Burmese Chinese have a disproportionately large presence in Burmese higher education, and make up a high percentage of the educated class in Burma. Philippines The Chinese in the Philippines are mostly business owners and their life centers mostly in the family business. These mostly small or medium enterprises play a significant role in the Philippine economy. A handful of these entrepreneurs run large companies and are respected as some of the most prominent business tycoons in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos attribute their success in business to frugality and hard work, Confucian values and their traditional Chinese customs and traditions. They are very business-minded and entrepreneurship is highly valued and encouraged among the young n Equatorial Guinea, where the president publicly hung his predecessor from a cage suspended in a theatre before having him shot, Chinese firms are helping the dictator build an entirely new capital, full of gleaming skyscrapers and, of course, Chinese restaurants. After battling for years against the white colonial powers of Britain, France, Belgium and Germany, post-independence African leaders are happy to do business with China for a straightforward reason: cash. With western loans linked to an insistence on democratic reforms and the need for 'transparency' in using the money (diplomatic language for rules to ensure dictators do not pocket millions), the Chinese have proved much more relaxed about what their billions are used for. Certainly, little of it reaches the continent's impoverished 800 million people. Much of it goes straight into the pockets of dictators. In Africa, corruption is a multi-billion pound industry and many experts believe that China is fuelling the cancer. The Chinese are contemptuous of such criticism. To them, Africa is about pragmatism, not human rights.'Business is business,' says Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong, adding that Beijing should not interfere in 'internal' affairs.'We try to separate politics from business.' While the bounty has, not surprisingly, been welcomed by African dictators, the people of Africa are less impressed. At a market in Zimbabwe recently, where Chinese goods were on sale at nearly every stall, one woman told me she would not waste her money on 'Zing-Zong' products. 'They go Zing when they work, and then they quickly go Zong and break,' she said.'They are a waste of money. But there's nothing else. China is the only country that will do business with us.' There have also been riots in Zambia, Angola and Congo over the flood of Chinese immigrant workers. The Chinese do not use African labour where possible, saying black Africans are lazy and unskilled. In Angola, the government has agreed that 70 per cent of tendered public works must go to Chinese firms, most of which do not employ Angolans. As well as enticing hundreds of thousands to settle in Africa, they have even shipped Chinese prisoners to produce the goods cheaply. In Kenya, for example, only ten textile factories are still producing, compared with 200 factories five years ago, as China undercuts locals in the production of 'African' souvenirs. Where will it all end? As far as Beijing is concerned, it will stop only when Africa no longer has any minerals or oil to be extracted from the continent. A century after Sir Francis Galton outlined his vision for Africa, the Chinese are here to stay. More will come. The people of this bewitching, beautiful continent, where humankind first emerged from the Great Rift Valley, desperately need progress. The Chinese are not here for that. They are here for plunder. After centuries of pain and war, Africa deserves better Spain Chinese businesses became part of Spanish urban life - Feature Posted : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:00:19 GMT By : Sinikka Tarvainen Madrid - Practically every neighbourhood in the Spanish capital Madrid has at least one shop like Ana's. Ana is not her real name, but like many Chinese entrepreneurs in Spain she uses a Spanish first name, which is easier for her clients to remember. Ana's shop on Colombia Street in north Madrid displays a sign that says "foodstuffs," but it is more like a mini-supermarket, offering products ranging from cleaning supplies to toiletries at rock-bottom prices. The shop is nearly always open. Despite her long working hours, Ana, who is in her early 40s, is always friendly and quick to smile. She speaks just enough Spanish to quote prices, help clients find products and hold simple conversations. Ana and her husband came to Spain two years ago, leaving their 10- year-old son with his grandmother in Beijing, she explains in broken Spanish, as Chinese blares from a television set in the background. Shops like Ana's have become ubiquitous in many cities in Spain, where the number of Chinese immigrants has risen to about 154,000, up from 124,000 in 2007, according to the Labour and Immigration Ministry. Most of the new arrivals come from the south-eastern Chinese region of Qingtian and live in Madrid or Barcelona, according to Spanish media reports. There are large numbers of Chinese businesses in some neighbourhoods, such as Madrid's multicultural Lavapies, which has hundreds of Chinese shops and restaurants. But the capital does not have a real Chinatown, because Chinese establishments are scattered all over the city. While Spain's economic crisis is driving other immigrants back home, the Chinese presence is only becoming more visible. They now run more than 20,000 businesses in Spain, the daily El Mundo reported. The immigrants first became known as owners of Chinese restaurants - which number more than 2,000 in Spain - and of "all-for-1-euro" shops selling all kinds of cheap, China-made products. Now, however, they run a large variety of businesses, ranging from typical Spanish bars and hairdressing salons to travel agencies and insurance companies. The Chinese no longer employ just other Chinese but Spaniards, too, in a country with a 20-per-cent unemployment rate. "I would be out of work if I had not decided to work for them," said Juan Perez, an instructor at the Woo Fu driving school in the eastern city of Valencia. A few years ago, Chinese immigrants made headlines mainly for running clandestine textile factories employing other Chinese - often illegal immigrants - in slave-like conditions, or for selling pirated CDs and DVDs. Today, such news has partly been replaced with Chinese rags-to- riches stories, such as that of industrialists Li Tie, 33, and Yong Ping, 43. Today, such news has partly been replaced with Chinese rags-to- riches stories, such as that of industrialists Li Tie, 33, and Yong Ping, 43. Li Tie started two decades ago on Madrid street corners selling bags. Now he and Yong Ping have opened a 40,000-square-metre commercial and industrial centre - one of the largest such projects ever undertaken by foreigners in Spain- with plans to add a four-star hotel. "The banks give us (Chinese) loans easily, because we are good at paying them back," Yong Ping told El Mundo. Despite many Spaniards being acquainted with shopkeepers like Ana, few of them have made close friends with Chinese immigrants, who have the reputation of forming a rather closed community. A key aspect of their commercial success is that members of the same family run related businesses and give interest-free loans to each other, social anthropologist Joaquin Beltran explained. "Business logic goes together with family honour," he said. The somewhat mysterious reputation of the Chinese community is reflected in some half-joking myths about them, such as the saying that they do not die. There are, indeed, few graves of Chinese immigrants in Spanish graveyards, but the explanation is simple: most Chinese return home to retire. The relative isolation of the Chinese community is beginning to crumble as a younger generation grows up in Spain, learns perfect Spanish and adapts to local customs. The growing Chinese presence has fuelled Spanish interest in Chinese culture and business opportunities, with some 20,000 Spaniards now studying Mandarin in schools, universities and private language centres. Some Spanish business owners complain about what they regard as unfair Chinese competition, but many Spaniards could no longer do without their local Chinese shop. "In business," said Ji Wang, a lawyer in Madrid, "we are all equal." Greece is tapping China's deep pockets to help rebuild its economy By Anthony Faiola Wednesday, June 9, 2010 PIRAEUS, GREECE -- Nearly bankrupt and sullied in the eyes of foreign investors, Greece is moving to rebuild its economy by tapping the deep pockets of another ancient civilization: China. Spurred on by government incentives and bargain-basement prices, the Chinese are planning to pump hundreds of millions -- perhaps billions -- of euros into Greece even as other investors run the other way. The cornerstone of those plans is the transformation of the Mediterranean port of Piraeus into the Rotterdam of the south, creating a modern gateway linking Chinese factories with consumers across Europe and North Africa. The port project is emerging as a bellwether for Greek plans to pay down debt and reinvent its broken economy by privatizing inefficient government-owned utilities, trains and even casinos. This week, the Chinese shipping giant Cosco assumed full control of the major container dock in Piraeus, just southwest of Athens. In return, the Chinese have pledged to spend $700 million to construct a new pier and upgrade existing docks. The Greek government, for its part, is taking on the powerful unions in a bid to ensure that the Chinese can introduce dramatic changes to increase efficiency and productivity. That effort has ironically turned the Greek Communist Party -- which is closely aligned with the labor unions -- into the fiercest critic of China's economic march on Greece. The Greek government is also courting China for a bevy of other projects, including a sprawling new distribution center in the industrial wastelands west of Athens, a monorail line, five-star hotels and a new maritime theme park. Greek hotels, eager to fill rooms as crisis-weary Europeans cut back on travel, are also wooing Chinese tour operators as never before. The whitewashed island of Santorini has started selling itself as the ideal spot for "Big Fat Mandarin Weddings" and has seen a surge in fairytale nuptials by wealthy Chinese as a result. "We have a saying in China,'Construct the eagle's nest, and the eagle himself will come,' " Wei Jiafu, Cosco's charismatic chief executive, said in a televised interview in Athens this week. A high-ranking member of China's Communist Party, he is now so well-known in Greece that many here refer to him by his nickname, "Captain Wei." "We have constructed such a nest in your country to attract such Chinese eagles," he said. "This is our contribution to you." Pattern of investing The Chinese have plunked down billions from Angola to Peru to ensure the delivery of natural resources to feed China's red-hot economy as well as to guarantee unfettered and cost-effective shipment of its exports abroad. The investments here in Greece, analysts say, are part of China's plan to create a network of roads, pipelines, railroads and port facilities -- sort of a modern Silk Road -- to boost East-West trade. Forced in April to turn to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for a $140 billion bailout, Greece fits perfectly into China's pattern of investing in challenging environments. China is building a new commercial maritime base in Greece at a time when other European nations remain suspicious of Chinese state investment. France, citing national security risks, recently blocked a bid by China to take over a French firm. Alarm is also growing that China's plans will flood Europe with cheap Asian imports. "There is growing unease in Europe at the extent and size of their trade imbalance with China," said Jonathan Wood, global issues analyst at Control Risks in London. "They are worried about finding themselves in the same situation as the United States, running a high trade deficit with China." Yet the Greeks see Chinese investment as nothing short of a gift from the gods. The biggest question facing the troubled European Union is how nations with uncompetitive economies such as Portugal, Spain and Greece can reinvent themselves to be more on par with the successful nations of Northern Europe. Greek officials say Chinese investment is offering a glimpse into how this nation can do just that by building on its expertise in shipping. "The Chinese want a gateway into Europe," Theodoros Pangalos, Greece's deputy prime minister, said in an interview. "They are not like these Wall Street expletive pushing financial investments on paper. The Chinese deal in real things, in merchandise. And they will help the real economy in Greece." Yet the privatization of the port also shows how difficult such a transition might be, particularly as Greece tries to privatize more of its economy. 35-year lease The Chinese deal for the port began to come together in 2006, with Cosco taking transitional control of the main dock at Piraeus on Oct. 1, 2009. It came in armed with a 35-year lease and a mission to whip the notoriously inefficient container docks into shape. The unloading of a mid-size cargo ship could take as long a week at Piraeus, days longer than at a modern, well-run port such as Rotterdam, now Europe's largest. Many in the shipping industry blamed Greek state workers. "The problem is, the workers were trained to make more money without working," said Nicolas Vernicos, owner of a shipping company whose tugboats have been subcontracted by the Chinese to operate at the port. "That is Greece's problem." The unions at the port had been striking off and on for months to protest the Chinese arrival. Greece's Socialist government, which came to power in October, initially stood behind the unions, almost scuttling the Chinese deal. But as Greece's economy went into a tailspin, the government did an about-face, not only welcoming the Chinese at the container dock but also entering into new talks with them for a major shipping repair hub at the port as well as a huge new distribution center. As part of the deal, 500 union workers at the port were gradually replaced -- allowing the Chinese to bring in cheaper subcontractors. To calm the unions, the government offered 140 workers up to $2,000 a month in pension payments, while others were promised government jobs elsewhere. The unions and the Greek Communist Party say the Chinese are hiring subcontractors with fewer than 20 workers -- putting them just below the legal threshold in Greece to form organized unions. In addition, they say, the new workers are being pushed too hard, pointing to an incident three weeks ago when two new hires were hospitalized after being injured on the job. "We are not only giving up national sovereignty but selling our workers out," said Nikos Xourafis, a labor leader with the Greek Port Workers Association. "That can't be the answer for Greece." Kyrgyzstan The Great Silk Road with one's own eyes. Part III. Chinese expansion Economies of post-Soviet Central Asian countries and their development directly depend on China with its economic clout. Aware of the need of stable markets to dump goods and commodities into, the government of China actually encourages its businessmen to establish joint ventures in nearby countries. It enables the Chinese to exert influence with these economies from within. This influence is then used to establish these economies' dependence on Chinese manpower. Mass torrents of low-paid manpower originating in China meanwhile foment fears in citizens of Central Asian countries that they may find themselves driven from their native territories one fine day. Kyrgyz businessmen and manual workers fall back before the Chinese expansion and seek employment abroad. Chinese enterprises in Kyrgyzstan Osh is the southern capital of Kyrgyzstan. A major Chinese company invited Osh city fathers to visit Kashgar last year and arranged their meeting with local business circles. When the visit was over, a Kyrgyz-Chinese joint venture was established in Osh. Chinese businesses built four brick works near the city, each producing 70,000 bricks every twenty-four hours. Mayor of Osh Jumadyl Isakov claims that several Kyrgyz-Chinese joint ventures were established in the city last year. "Along with everything else, we have plans to organize production of spare parts here for the future industrial park where Chinese furniture, refrigerators, and other home appliances will be made," Isakov said. "As for Kyrgyz-Chinese joint ventures, we need more of them. For example, we need brick works, a leg wear garment factory, factories pouring out articles of plastic, cotton, and so on. All of that means jobs for our people." This correspondent asked Isakov about markets for the future industrial boom. The major said that it was being taken care of right now. "Provided the quality is adequate, we will export the goods to Russia, Turkey, and other countries," he said. (Experts doubt in the meantime that Chinese goods - even made in Kyrgyzstan - will be welcome in other countries. "No, I do not think that Russia or Turkey will be interested," human rights activist from Jalalabad Abdunazar Mamatislamov shook his head. "These countries themselves have enough and to spare. Moreover, their own analogs are of an undeniably better quality than anything the Kyrgyz-Chinese joint ventures might hope to come up with.") Isakov in the meantime went on giving this correspondent chapter and verse on what he clearly regarded as accomplishments in the sphere of cooperation with the Chinese. "We have another joint venture here that makes metal ware - fittings, pipes, and so on," he continued. "The Chinese will build a cement mill here as well. Other plans stand for development of a coal pit in a settlement not far from here and development of its infrastructure depends on the Chinese too..." Uzbekistan No need to elaborate here on how goods «made in China» have flooded foreign markets, all too frequently drowning quality in quantity. Analysts point out that cheap and easily available Chinese goods impair development of industry in the countries bordering on China. Determined to defend national industry and hopefully boost prestige of their own goods and commodities, some countries (like Uzbekistan) restrict import from China. Smugglers see to it that these restrictions do not matter much. More than 50% of what Chinese goods and commodities reach Qorasuv in Kyrgyzstan with its largest marketplace in all of Central Asia are then smuggled into Uzbekistan. It is hardly surprising because the Kyrgyz market itself cannot absorb this flood. (It should be added that the population of the southern part of Kyrgyzstan stands at approximately 2.5 million men at this point or half the whole population of the country.) It follows that a vast bulk of goods and commodities goes right to small-time wholesale vendors from all over Uzbekistan who brave the road to Qorasuv despite the distances involved and the threat of confiscation of goods. Demolition Smuggled Chinese goods and commodities are a thorough headache for the Uzbek authorities. Desperate for at least something to dam the flood, they fortified the state border and demolished every building there regardless of its purpose and form of ownership. Literally thousands Uzbeks saw their houses torn down, helpless to do anything about it. «We used to have a large house with six rooms inside,» a woman whose household was thus demolished told Ferghana.Ru. «And a fairly large land plot nearby. It was torn down because some official had said it was located too close to the border, right near the barbed wire. He said we were facilitating smuggling or something. The authorities gave us land, approximately one third of what we had had, and 5.5 million sums ($4,840) to build another house with. A shack is all we can hop to build with this sort of money.» Mass demolition was launched in April 2007. The authorities used units of the regular army with their heavy haulers and all other gear. It took them no time at all to level every building to the ground. The people were left literally under the open sky, despite the cold and rains. Almost 200 buildings were demolished on a fairly small part of the border in the settlements of Sokolok, Kisik, and Dustlik. Thousands buildings were leveled to the ground all along the border, just because the authorities deemed them to be located in the wrong place. Corrupt border guards Needless to say, all of that facilitated corruption in the Uzbek Border Service. This correspondent observed with his own eyes how border guards collected toll from vendors dragging their sacks and packs across the border. Tariffs are known to everyone — crossing the border once costs 1,000 sums ($0.8) when «loaded» and 500 sums ($0.4) when empty. Uzbeks cross the border by the thousand every day. They return to the border again, carrying Chinese goods and commodities, bribe border guards, and go home in order to sell the lot without attracting attention of the local law enforcement agencies and earn something to sustain their families. Fiji Chinese people and their descendants constitute a small, but influential, community in the multiracial society that makes up modern Fiji. In the early 2000s their numbers were estimated at around 6000, or a little over half of one percent of Fiji's population. Around 80% of Chinese in Fiji speak Cantonese as their native language and around 16% speak Shanghainese as their native language. Chinese in Fiji also speak the local Fijian language. Chinese in Fiji have a strong Buddhist background and some retained Confucian traditions. There are also a considerable number of Fijians who are of partial Chinese extraction, being descended from marriages between Chinese and indigenous Fijians. For electoral purposes, Chinese people are counted as General Electors, an omnibus category for Fijian citizens not of indigenous, Indian, or Rotuman descent, which is allocated three seats in the 71-member House of Representatives. Australia Canada Chinese investors eye Canadian housing boom ' '"There's investment coming from all over the world, but especially from countries that have any sort of restriction on ownership." Steve Ladurantaye Published on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 7:08PM EST Last updated on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 2:50AM EST ''' '''Forget about competing with the family up the street the next time you bid on a new home – the real competition may be sitting at a computer in Shanghai. With their government worried about a domestic housing bubble, more mainland Chinese investors are looking toward Canada's booming housing market as a haven for their dollars. “The world continues to get smaller and smaller,” said Don Lawby, president of Century 21 Canada Ltd. “There's investment coming from all over the world, but especially from countries that have any sort of restriction on ownership.” Chinese officials – alarmed by housing prices that increased by 7.8 per cent in the country's 70 biggest cities in 2009 – imposed a sales tax late last year on homes sold within five years of their purchase, in a bid to dampen speculation. This has investors casting their eyes out of the country, with some Chinese entrepreneurs offering tours in the United States so investors can see properties in person. “Most of us have realized that traditional manufacturing industries no longer bring us more profits, so many who used to run factories are switching to stock markets or real estate,” Zhou Dewen, head of a Wenzhou business association, recently told Associated Press when asked why he was organizing out-of-country tours for investors. While Chinese residents have long looked to Canada as a site for their capital, and while they have been buying steadily in the Vancouver and Toronto real estate markets for years, the combination of a clampdown at home and a blazing hot market in this country is spurring even more interest. ' '''Canada's real estate market rebounded strongly in 2009, with sales improving 7.7 per cent over 2008, and the national average price moving 5-per-cent higher. Low interest rates and a backlog of demand have been cited as reasons for the surge, and many analysts are calling for the market to cool down as domestic demand fades. ' 'The prospect of any sort of slowdown makes a pool of potential overseas buyers that much more attractive to the country's real estate industry. ' 'To tap into the demand, Century 21 will unveil a new Chinese version of its website this week, the first major real estate company to do so in Canada. The site is the cornerstone of a strategy that will see the company increasingly marketing properties directly to consumers in mainland China. ' '“Right now, our focus is on serving Chinese clients in Canada,” said Mr. Lawby, who is also president of Century 21 Asia Pacific. ' '''“However, a byproduct is that Canadian listings will be more visible to buyers from around the world … there's always a need for a safe haven to place money and invest.” Vancouver agent William Nip estimates he sells 40 properties to Chinese nationals each year, a number that has increased every year since he started dealing in property 17 years ago. ' '''So far this year, most of his clients are looking to spend up to $2-million on premium properties. ' '''“The bubble in China is already very big, so the government is encouraging them to take their money and spend somewhere else,” said Mr. Nip, who works at Sutton Group West Coast Realty. While there's no doubt the Chinese are looking abroad, Patrick Chovanec, a business professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University, cautioned that many would-be buyers aren't in a position to actually spend outside the country's borders despite their interest. “Only Chinese citizens who already have found a way to get some money offshore are actually in the position to invest in real estate in Canada or the U.S. It's not an insignificant amount of money, but it's a tiny portion of China's savings pool.” USA Chinese Tourists Buying Foreclosure Properties By : Leticia Carvalho ' '''Submitted 2008-12-29 07:35:11 ' 'More and more Chinese are joining tour groups especially organized for house-hunting and home-buying in the U.S. to take advantage of the bargain prices of foreclosed properties. The Chinese government has relaxed its U.S. visa and foreign investment regulations to enable its people to buy real properties abroad. ' 'Among the most popular destinations are Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, the cities with the highest foreclosure rates. According to Jamie Lee of the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau in Beijing, Chinese investors have been buying properties quietly in Southern California for years. Now they are going around buying repo homes in large groups. ' 'Meanwhile, even Chinese local governments have become involved in the buying spree. Government officials from the southern province of Guangdong are scheduled to fly to Los Angeles to establish a regional office to assist residents of Guangdong in their home-buying efforts. ' 'Ling Chow, head of the Chinese American Real Estate Professionals Association in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley, is pleased about the surge of home buyers from China. But he doubts about their impact on the revival of the housing market which is filled with foreclosure properties. ' 'Chow said that many of the Chinese buyers are looking for new homes in school districts with high academic ratings in preparation for their children who are set to immigrate with them. Some are buying for their children who are attending college in a few years. ' 'Nevertheless, researcher Mei Xinyu of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce is concerned about groups of Chinese investing in new homes and foreclosed properties in markets they know nothing about. He warned about communities that may not recover at all. ' 'As a response to concerns similar to Mei Xinyu’s, Yuan Lixin of newspaper publisher and group tour organizer Beijing Youth arranged group tours to give Chinese tourists and potential home investors a feel of the real American life in communities hit hard by foreclosures. ' '''Author Resource:- Leticia Carvalho has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosures market over 5 years. Read about the following article Chinese Tourists Buying Foreclosure Properties by Leticia Carvalho on DistressedPropertiesSale.com - Your online source for distressed properties UK 'Chinese buying up investment properties in London ' Chinese investors spent approximately 170 million pounds ($260 million) buying up newly built properties in central London in the 12 month period ending March 2010, driven by a weaker pound and tightened real estate policies at home, major international real estate service providers said. According to Liam Bailey, head of residential research with real estate agency Knight Frank LLP, Asian investors are now buying more than a fifth of all central London’s new properties, and account for 49 percent of all investment purchases in central London. ' '“Of the 7,595 newly built properties completed in the 12 months prior to March 2010, 41 percent of these were bought by investors rather than owner occupiers. And 49 percent of all investors were Asian, with 11 percent from the mainland and Hong Kong, 10 percent from Singapore and 7 percent from Malaysia,” said Bailey. “We estimate that over the last 12 months, Asian investment volume has totaled 761 million pounds,” he added. Data from real estate service provider Savills showed buyers from southeast Asia - and those from the mainland and Hong Kong in particular - account for 35 percent of new development sales in London, making the Chinese the most active overseas buyers in the city. “Recent tightening of (the government’s real estate) policy towards Chinese domestic property investments has led to an increased appetite for overseas real estate purchases. And the strengthening of the yuan against major currencies in the past two years has also meant Chinese buyers could acquire foreign real estate assets at a bargain,” said Randall Hall, CEO of Savills China. With Chinese investors getting more nervous about keeping money at home after outstanding credit rose by 30 percent and property prices skyrocketed last year, the launch of tightening real estate polices since the end of last year also made property investments more risky. “Besides, we cannot underestimate the role of UK education in encouraging inward investment into London,” said Bailey. Over the past decade, the number of Asian students studying in UK universities has risen by 175 percent. The strongest growth comes from Chinese, Indian and Pakistani nationals. The number of Chinese studying in the UK rose from 4,017 in 1998-1999 to 47,035 in 2008-2009, industry sources show. In many cases, Asian investors snap up residential properties in the UK for their college-bound offspring to reside in for the duration of their education there, “and then retain the property as an investment,” Bailey added. According to Knight Frank’s research, for Asian investors location is a key priority - preferably close to a subway station. Meanwhile, Knight Frank’s experience in the past year has shown a change in buying power with Asian investors selecting more up-market properties. “In 2007, exhibitions in Asia were focused on smaller, more affordable units but now demand is for more spacious one and two bedroom apartments priced from 400,000 to 800,000 pounds, if not more,” said Sebastian Warner of Knight Frank’s residential investment team. 2007-09-07 Monika Manke Germany Around twenty boxes filled with titanium balls are put in the corner, ready for transport. This room is about twelve square meters, and it doesn’t exactly look like the office of a thriving company. And you wouldn’t guess that the goods stored here are worth about 30.000 Euros. But this Chinese, Zhang Changjia, the owner of Sulfan Fine Metal GmbH says his titanium is the best around and that business is booming even though he only launched his company last year in Cologne. So, what’s the secret of his success? ' '“''My dad has a factory in China. He’s worked with German companies for many years. He was the one who has sent me to Germany so that I can open a business here and expand our family trade.”'' ' '''Zhang is one of many Chinese who set up business in Cologne today within the framework of the cities “China Offensive.” Thanks to his dad’s contacts, he didn’t have a lot of problems accessing the German market. Yang Gangtong’s starting position was similar. His parents have a factory in China as well. They sent their son to Germany to study and set up business there. But Yang’s story was a bit more complicated. He didn’t finish his study and his application to set up business here was turned down. The second one’s been successful, and it’s been a year of hard work. ' 'Glaser says, a good business plan is essential. But how well prepared are his clients? ' 'Mrs. Yang is one of them. She is planning to set up a consulting office aimed at Chinese companies. Having already worked in Germany, she thinks that she has an advantage in this field. But she also hopes that she will come to grips with the differences between doing business in Germany and in China. ' '“''There are so many little things that are different. The businessmodel, the mentality. Even the contracts and the international payment procedures, and many other things. All these are very different in China and in Germany.” ' '''Thinking of his own experiences with his German business partners, Zhang agrees. In China you pay at least fifty percent of the price in advance. In Germany, you do it after delivery. The customers here in Germany are simply different, he says. ' '“''We have a saying that goes like this. The American client only looks at the price. And if the price is right, everything is right. The Japanese client is different, he looks at quality. If the quality is good, then everything is good. But the German client wants Japanese quality for an American price. And that’s difficult.” ' '''But according to Tim Glaser, there are aspects of Chinese culture that benefit to launch a company. For example, he says, Chinese are more flexible than Germans. ' '“''Germans work from A to B. Everything is planned with a predetermined number of steps. And Germans stick to their initial plans. The Chinese also say they want to go from A to B, but then they take the first step, turn around 360 degrees, before they decide to take the next step.” ' '''While Zhang takes up the offer of a big German company, the Mayor of Colone, Fritz Schrama, has traveled to Beijing to promote Colone as a location for doing good business. By the end of this year his initiative wants to have settled 188 Chinese companies in Cologne. 188 because 8 is a lucky number in China. So far 116 enterprises have responded to his call. So, is it possible to reach that goal? Zhang thinks it is, because he says that the Chinese have a temperament that guides them. And there’s a saying that expresses this: ' '“''Don’t hesitate in making a decision.” ''' '''Well, this kind of driving force might well drive more and more Chinese companies to set up business in Cologne. |} Category:Overseas Chinese groups